How Often Should You Review a Six-Figure Pension - and What a Real Review Covers

On a modest pot, an unexamined pension costs you little. Once it runs to several hundred thousand pounds and is funding a retirement you have a date in mind for, the arithmetic changes: a percentage point of unnecessary charge, or a risk level nobody has revisited in fifteen years, is now measured in tens of thousands. Most people's review consists of glancing at an annual statement and filing it. That is monitoring, not reviewing.

How often

Annually is right for most people, with additional reviews whenever something changes materially: a new job, a business sale, an inheritance, a divorce, a health diagnosis, or a change in when you intend to stop working.

What a real review examines

• Whether the target income figure still reflects the life you now intend to live.

• Total charges across every plan, in pounds.

• Whether the investment strategy still matches your timeline, not the one assumed at enrolment.

• Contribution levels against available allowances, including carry forward.

• Expression of wish forms and death benefit arrangements.

• Whether consolidation would help — and whether any policy carries guarantees that would be lost.

The point of the exercise

A review is not about reacting to markets. It is about checking that a long-term plan still points at the life you actually want, and adjusting while adjusting is still cheap.

If you'd like these questions answered for your own situation, download our free guide, The Pre-Retirement Pension Review, or book a free no-obligation call at www.dmfinancialplanning.co.uk.

Important information

This article is for general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change. A pension is a long-term investment; funds cannot normally be accessed until age 55 (57 from 2028). DM Financial Planning is a trading style of Aegis Financial Planning Limited, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA No. 624298).